Undying Love
Chapter 2 - Faith
Sara screamed once again, sweat beading her forehead. Even though she had her child in her arms, the pain from her sickness was unbearable. The small child touched her mother’s face tentatively, as if the baby could break her. Sara screamed and cried, but the baby only wanted to comfort her. Jake, Sara’s husband, quickly snatched up his newborn. Jake had been stifling his sobs for quite some time, but now they came in a racking torrent of tears.
The nurse running about trying to get Sara some medication paused for a moment to usher Jake out of the room and take the baby. It smelled of sweat, tears and medicine in the room where Sara lay on her back in agonizing pain. Jake sat in the waiting room, praying and crying. He told himself that this was all his fault, they knew Sara wouldn’t make it. Her unknown disease was just too far along and it was spreading, slowly crippling her with the pain. Jake hated it with a passion.
Sara’s disease could not be treated and killed quickly. It had recently been spreading throughout the town Sara had lived in her whole life, the quiet village of Fayette. There had been three other cases besides Sara’s and all had ended in death. Those people were friends and neighbors and all had survived for a few days before a quick death. Sara had been diagnosed a week before she had given birth to her beautiful baby girl.
Sara fought with all her might as the illness inside her felt as if it was breaking every bone, shattering every ounce of strength she had left. She felt it spread quickly, deadly, throughout her body. They weren’t waves of pain, but a monster that pounded each waking second. It beckoned toward the easy escape, death. It whispered words of happiness where there was nothing.
Sara struggled against it, not seeing anything but the blackness and burning fire. The blackness cloaked her vision and rainbows danced behind her eyelids, delusions. Sara couldn’t remember why she was there anymore, suffering as she was. She couldn’t remember her little girl in the other room, the one she would whisper to at night and reassure that everything would be alright. Sara smiled and laughed in her pain, even though she gripped the side-rails on her bed with a crushing force. She blissfully floated away, ignorance clouding her reason.
Jake still sat in the waiting room, shaking with his head in his hands. He didn’t cry at this point, he was simply numb. He knew the only thing that kept him from floating away was the baby in the other room. His daughter pinned him to the ground and made him made sure he was sane. The world crumbled around him and only one person seemed to be left alive with him.
“Mr. Reese, I’m so sorry. Your wife just passed away a few moments ago.” Jake looked up at the small nurse with no surprise. He looked lifeless, but it was easier for him because he had been expecting this. Jake knew truly that there was no escape when Sara’s disease held to your body and sucked the life out of you like a parasite. He had seen it change his beloved wife into a victim and he vowed never to see it again.
“Where is my child? I would like to see her.” The nurse seemed slightly shocked at Jake’s question.
“Do you want to see your wife and make arrangements? She is dead, Mr. Reese.” The nurse said the last sentence slowly to Jake. He shook his head to himself. No one really understood Jake at times. Some say he was erratic and hare-brained, but only Sara had ever understood. Jake knew he would miss that.
He looked around at the others in the waiting room, their grim expressions and dark looks. Many probably had family and loved ones dying from Sara’s deadly ailment. He realized it was beginning to spread more quickly with a deadly grace. People’s eyes reflected hope, fear, and sorrow and Jake could almost feel the emotions on his chest compressing, making it harder to breathe.
“No, I do not want to see my dead wife.” Jake was scheming to leave as soon as possible, to be rid of the death surrounding him. He would only be hurt beyond repair if he decided to stay. The nurse didn’t say anything more about the subject.
“Your child is waiting in the other room. You can see her today and pick her up to bring home tomorrow.”, the nurse said. “You will need to make arrangements in the office to your left at the end of the hallway.” She pointed towards a door with a frosted glass window and gold letters that said “Dr. Jones”. Jake nodded to the nurse who turned briskly and walked towards Sara’s room.
The office was small and overcrowded with many medical books. The doctor’s desk was filled to the brim with papers and knick-knacks. Doctor Jones sat at his old oak desk and a small chair sat in front of it, the only space that wasn’t brimming with literary works.
“Please sit down, Mr. Reese. I understand you have suffered a great loss, but my job is to make this easier for you...” The doctor rambled on about how sorry he was, but Jake knew no one could possibly be as sorry as he was. The doctor finally shoved some paperwork in front of Jake’s face and handed him a pen. Jake filled out forms for the next few hours absent-minded. He only wanted to see his daughter.
When Jake finally handed back the stack of papers, the Doctor asked,
“So, what would you like to name your daughter, for the records?” Jake seemed a bit surprised, but figured he shouldn’t be. What was the name he and Sara had picked out? Well, they thought it would be a boy, but they did pick out one name just in case...
“Faith Sara Reese is her full name.”, Jake stated confidently. The doctor jotted it down on a medical form as Jake stood up to leave. Even though he had never thought of the name of a daughter, he deemed this name appropriate for his situation. Jake needed faith more than anything.
“Oh Mr. Reese, your daughter will be ready to be taken home tomorrow. Again, I am so sorry about your wife’s decease.” Jake knew this was not the first time the doctor had said this, probably countless others. He also knew this certainly would not be his last. Jake took one last look at Doctor Jones and left without another word or goodbye.
The next day Jake gazed down at my beautiful child, dimples and all. She had soft, red curls that framed her face and an innocent look. Faith always wore a care-free smile with her eyes wandering everywhere, taking everything in. Though she was only a child, she had an inquisitive look in her face, a feature that remained. Jake was so ready to take her and leave his life behind without a passing glance. Faith was his life now and he would do whatever it was to keep her safe.
Thoughts were jumbled and warped as Jake thought furiously about the Sara’s disease. He knew it was only a matter of time before it ruined them all.
